Dragons of the Mystic Moon
by Torlicious
Summary: It's been three years since Hitomi's been back on Earth. Now in America to forget Gaea and Van, an unexpected visit rears it's ugly head; a visit of friends, and a new enemy.
1. Arrival

Woo, Escafic! Haven't done one of these in a loong time! Enjoy, yo. Oh yeah. This'll also be on my DevArt account. Same pen name.  
  
~~~  
  
Dragons in Frisco  
  
By: Tonkuro  
  
~~~  
  
"Merle! Run!" Van cried as another explosion rang out close to him. The young, now fallen king of Fanelia covered his ears and winced, the heat of the burning castle causing sweat to drop off his creased brow.   
  
A whimper escaped Merle's mouth as she ran to the gates leading to the forest. Smoke pushed out of the opening doors, and the smell of it stayed in her cinnamon colored fur. Within seconds, the catgirl was racing through the trees, praying that Van was following close in suit.  
  
Van hoisted the unconvious Celena over his shoulder. Her back was bleeding from where it had been split open, causing her green dress to change a gross color of brown. If she didn't get help, she'd soon end up like her dead brother who lay in front of the two. The cause of the injury was ghastly...  
  
His eye caught something coming toward him through the flames. Five silhouettes were beginning to form, coming closer. Van growled. The ones who'd killed Allen; the one killing Celena...  
  
"Dilandau! Stop this, NOW!" Van yelled as the lead of the Dragon Slayers and his followers ran toward and poast him and Celena. Dilandau turned his head and glared at Van.  
  
"I'm not doing this, you fool!" he snapped. With that, the fair skinned boy was out of sight. Van stamped his foot and began to sprint toward the burning forest. He was almost there...  
  
"Gah!" Van fell to the ground. His neck was searing hot pain. What just happened? He looked up weakly, and his eyes narrowed. A dark shadow stood above him, smiling. Then, it opened its mouth.  
  
"Gaea may be done, but you aren't."  
  
A weak scream escaped Van as the pain spread into his head. He began to feel dizzy. The shadow disappeared, and darkness overtook him.  
  
***  
  
It was finally beginning to warm up. That made Hitomi happy. In her opinion, America was too cold. Maybe it was just that San Francisco was too coastal and that made it cold. She didn't know. Thinking about it made her homesick.  
  
A sad sigh escaped Hitomi's pale lips. God, she missed Japan. If it weren't for the fiasco in Gaea, she may have still there for college. But coming here had been her choice. Three year had passed, and she still couldn't get the experience of Gaea out of her head. She had to start over. It was her last hope to erase the memories.   
  
The sad look on Hitomi's face caught her friend's attention. "Are you all right" Hitomi's friend asked. The question sent her back to reality, and to the the smalle coffee shop the two were in. She merely nodded.  
  
Torrence was one of the few good things Hitomi gained by coming here. She was 18, the same age as Hitomi. She was also quite only about 4'10", and had outrageous flipped out hair, dyed a shade of loavender, which didn't go with her chocolate brown eyes all that well. Torrence had to be one of the funniest people Hitomi had the pleasure of knowing however, what with her sarcasm and witty commentary on anything the two saw.  
  
"Well, you sure don't seem like it. You look like a prison mate who didn't get his daily lovin'," Torrence replied, putting money down on the table and getting up. Hitomi laughed softly as the two walked toward the door. The misty air cooled her face.  
  
"Are we going back to your place? I have no classes today." Torrence shrugged.  
  
"Yeah, sure. I rented out some movies we can watch. Got this cool one about a guy with wings who falls in love with this girl from Mars." Hitomi froze for a moment inside. It reminded her of...  
  
"I don't see why anyone would buy into a guy with wings. It's ridiculous," said Hitomi. Torrence eyeballed her as they walked up a steep sidewalk.  
  
"Umm, you the one who said you met someone who has wings, you crazy girl, you."  
  
"Yeah, well you know I was just jokin' about that."  
  
Something in the foggy sky caught the girls' eyes. Yellow and red lights were spinning around. They grew bigger, then smaller, and then moved. Hitomi took in a shallow breath. That wasn't right... her vibes never betrayed her.  
  
"What the fuck is that?" Torrence asked as she cocked an eyebrow under her orange headband. Her eyes widened slightly, almost in interest, as she saw the lights drop above her apartment. Before they dropped, however, they disappeared.  
  
"I... I think we should hurry," Hitomi said shakilly.  
  
"Why? That scares you? It's probably just some spotlights, you worry too much Hitomi," Torrence replied. But the other girl didn't listen. Hitomi began to spring toward Torrence's apartment. A familiar ache grew in her chest as she began up the stairs to the third floor. She skid across the right hallway, thankful she was wearing her old track shoes. Reaching for the handle, she turned it, and...  
  
It was locked. And Torrence had the key. Hastilly, Hitomi knelt down and looked through the bottom crack of the door. There was nothing but a sand-colored glove obstructed her view of the living room. Hitomi's green eyes widened. Could it be? After all this time? Was it even possible?  
  
"Hitomi!" Torrence shouted, out of breath. "What the hell's with you?! It's just an apartment dude" She fumbled in her purse for her key, grabbed it and unlocked the door. Hitomi rushed through the door.  
  
Nothing. It was the same humdrum apartment. The glove was just laythere, however. Hitomi bit her lip and didn't pick it up. 'I'm such an idiot,' she thought. She felt a hand on her shoulder.   
  
"See? Now sit down, I'll go get the movies," Torrence said. Hitomi sighed and flopped down on the red leather couch. She tried to stop tears from welling up.   
  
Meanwhile, Torrence was walking to her rom. Humming in her resonant voice, she hung her purse on the doorknob and switched on the light. What she saw were six boys and two girls, all sprawled about her room.  
  
"Holy crap! Hitomi!"  
  
~~~  
  
Yeah, pretty short and sweet, but I wanted to get into the story part of it. I'm not big on detailed beginnings. Well, detailed anything actually. ^^ 


	2. Torrence is pissed

Well, here's chapter 2. Yay.  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, duh.  
  
~~~  
  
Dragons in Frisco, part 2  
  
By: Tonkuro  
  
~~~  
  
Torrence gasped and backed up against the wall. A boy laying on the bed began to stir. His silver blonde hair was tangled, and the leather pants he had on were ripped everywhere. His eyes opened, and immediatly he jumped on top of another boy with brown hair. Then he noticed Torrence.   
  
"Who...who are you?" Torrence asked in a demanding tone. The boy clutched his head in pain.  
  
"Gatti... of the loyal Dragon Slayers of Zaibach... ugh." He began to sink to his knees. Torrence, however, glared at him.   
  
"Yeah? Well get the fuck out of my home!" she shouted. She rushed over to Gatti and kicked him in the stomach furiously. Gatti winced, coughed, and bent over.  
  
"Torr! Don't! Not yet!" Hitomi shouted as she entered the room. She rushed over to Van, who was out cold and leaned against the nightstand. Her hands flew to his shoulders and she shook him gently. "Wake up," she wispered. A few seconds passed and Van's eyes slowly opened. Hitomi smiled and hugged him. "It's you! It's really you!" she murmured. Van nodded and hugged back weakly.  
  
"Hitomi... where am I?" Van asked, looking around slowly.  
  
"In my world," Hitomi replied, letting go and looking into his dark eyes. "But how?" Van groaned in pain and squirmed.  
  
"Don't know... a shadow..."  
  
"What? Van, you're sort of not making sense."  
  
Torrence grabbed Gatti by the neck and hoisted him up. "You sorry ass ain't going anywhere," she said angrilly. Making her way to Hitomi with the hurt boy, she knelt down next to the other girl. "Who are all of these people?" she asked herself. Hitomi looked at her.  
  
"Torr... remember the story about the boy with wings?"  
  
It took about twenty minutes for Gatti and Van to fully come around. The person to also wake up was Celena, whose lethal slash on her back had disappeared. After the three had settled down, the group went to the kitchen, and Hitomi told her story about going to Gaea to Torrence.  
  
"...Well?" Hitomi asked. Torrence shook her head.  
  
"God Hitomi, you've told me some weird things before, but this is just something I can't believe. It's just too out there." Van looked at Torrence.  
  
"How so?" He asked. "You can't believe?"  
  
"No, I can't," Torrence snapped. Hitomi gave her a pleading look.  
  
"I would never lie to you, Torr," she said, the sincerity in her voice genuine. Torrence sighed and put her head on the table.  
  
"Fine. If only to keep you quiet about it, I'll believe you." She rose her head back up and looked at Van. "So, you names are?..."  
  
"I'm Van Fanel," said Van quietly. Celena gave a shy smile.  
  
"I'm Celena Schezar." Torrence pointed to Gatti.  
  
"And you're Gatti?" she asked. Gatti nodded.  
  
"Yes, I am. Might I say, you have quite a grip," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. Torrence raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Err, thanks hun."   
  
The short girl got up and grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge. It was obvious she still didn't believe a word of this, especially since she was turning toward her alcoholic tendencies for current treatment of disbelief. Hitomi sighed.  
  
"Van? What's become of Gaea?" she asked. Van looked down at his feet and glared.  
  
"It's gone," he grumbled. Hitomi's olive green eyes widened slightly in shock, and she put a hand on Van's shoulder, squeezing.  
  
"Gone?" Celena nodded in confirmation.  
  
"Yes," she said. "A shadow like creature and these rat like fiends attacked everything. Fanelia was the last to go. We all tried to fight, but it was just no use." Tears began to fall from her cerulean eyes. "And now Allen's dead..." Van shook his head and clutched the table angrilly.  
  
"Don't blame the shadows, Celena. Blame *them*," he said in an almost low growl, glaring at Gatti. "I thought you were gone. How can you pieces of scum be back?!" Gatti slouched in his chair.  
  
"I don't know why we're back. All I know is that I was dead, peaceful and all, and then I felt this sucking motion, and I was back. And we're *not* scum," Gatti said in a calm tone. Van growled. It took all of his will to not go and kill the Dragon Slayer... again. Luckilly, Celena interjected.  
  
"You know, when we were being attacked, I thought about how I wish I was my stronger, former self. And then all of you appeared. It's strange, because I thought Dilandau and I were the same person. So how come we're two seperate people now?" Torrence turned her attention to Celena.  
  
"Well, what about that shadow creature you were talking about?" Torrence asked. Everyone looked at her.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Gatti asked. Torrence shrugged.  
  
"Well, if it destroyed all of this Gaea... thing, then it must be pretty powerful, right? Sooo, maybe it has enough power to make people, or something? I mean, it happens in all of those kick ass fantasy movies," she replied with a grin.   
  
"What's a movie?" Van asked quietly. Torrence laughed a little and finished the last of her beer.  
  
Without warning, a scream echoed from the bedroom, causing all in the kitchen to jump. "Get this ugly beast off of me!" yelled Dilandau's voice. Gatti jumped from the table and rushed into the bedroom. Dilandau was squirming under Merle's sleeping body. There was a look of almost utter horror on the boy's face.  
  
Gatti knelt down next to his leader and scooped the catgirl up in his arms gently and placed her on the bed. He held his hand out for Dilandau, only to have it smacked away. Dilandau stood up to his full height, which seemed to have increased with the passing years, and the same applied for his fellow Slayers. Brushing himself off, he looked around frantically.  
  
"Where...?!" Dilandau stammered. He turned about, surveying everything around him like a nervous hawk. Gatti bowed slightly.  
  
"The Mystic Moon, Master Dilandau," he said. (AN: No, I'm not using the japanese terms if I don't have to. I always found it weird that there in this totally different world, yet they still use Japanese.)   
  
Dilandau grabbed at his hair a bit, and growled. "Wake them up, Gatti. Now!" he commanded. Gatti nodded and picked Chesta up off the ground, shaking him. Then he moved to Miguel and Dalet, who were piled on top of each other and he kicked them gently. All three woke up, rose, and went wide eyed.   
  
"Fellow Slayers," Dilandau said, walking in front of them, "We're on the Mystic Moon." Immediately, the Dragon Slayers all bowed in front of him.   
  
"We're back!" Chesta said happily. Dilandau nodded.   
  
"Yes, we are," he replied. Suddenly, Dilandau was knocked over. Van had run into the room and tackled him.  
  
"You bastard!" yelled Van, pummeling his fist into Dilandau's face. The fair skinned boy grabbed Van by the shoulders and rolled the two over so he was on top, and kneed the young king in stomach, keeping his leg there.  
  
"How dare you touch my face!" Dilandau yelled.   
  
"Excuse me!" shouted Torrence over the commotion. The two stopped and looked at her. "But would you please quit fighting in my room?" she asked, aggravated. She grumbled. This was getting to be too much for her. Meanwhile, Dilandau pouted and got off of Van.   
  
"Who the hell are you?" he asked the girl.   
  
"Torrence," she replied. Dilandau nodded.  
  
"Dilandau Albatou, commander of Dragon Slayers." His tone became a lot more subdued. Chesta leaned next to Miguel.  
  
"How come he's being civil to her?" he whispered to his comrade.  
  
"He's been taught to at least respect the owner of a house he's in, even if he's probably hating it right now. We were all taught that, remember?" Miguel whispered back to the shorter boy. Chesta nodded.   
  
Hitomi, after helping Van up and giving Merle to him to carry, tapped Torrence on the shoulder. The shorter girl turned around, in time to not notice the scowl on Dilandau's face as he saw Hitomi. "I think we should go. Is it okay if these guys stay here for a while?"  
  
Torrence's jaw dropped. She led Hitomi out to the hallway. "Are you fucking kidding me, Hitomi?! I barely know these guys!" she hissed. Hitomi began to look desperate.   
  
"Look, I'll take Van, Celena and Merle, but I can't get caught with them in my dorm room, you know that. Please, Torr." Torrence shook her head.  
  
"No!"  
  
"Please! I'm begging you Torr!"  
  
"Why do you want me to watch after these guys so badly?" Hitomi sighed.  
  
"Look, that guy in the red... he's not the best of guys. But if he stays here, he'll have to respect your rules. Didn't you notice how he's calm around you? It's because you own this place! As long as he's here, he can't cause trouble." Torrence bit her lip.  
  
"Hitomi..."   
  
"Please?" Torrence sighed.   
  
"Fine. But not forever." Hitomi smiled and hugged Torrence tightly.  
  
"Thank you!"   
  
"Yeah yeah, you owe me one..."  
  
The two walked back in the room. Merle was beginning to wake up. There was a slight silence as Hitomi walked Van and Merle out of the room. "Call me in the morning," Hitomi said to Torrence. Torrence nodded. She heard the door open, then close, and it was quiet once more. The Dragon Slayers' eyes were upon her, and she fiddled with her black skirt and red hoody a bit.  
  
"Well..." she began. "Till we find out what's happened to all of you, you'll be staying with me." Dilandau clenched his fists; it was obvious he was angry with the current living arrangement. The other boys, however, looked quite happy. Torrence sighed and began to pace a bit. "Umm, all you gotta do is not get out of control, not fight, and not make the place a mess. Okay?" They all nodded in agreement. Dilandau also nodded, with a big pout on his face.  
  
"Bow to her," he grumbled. "You owe her a little loyalty, I suppose." Gatti, Dalet, Chesta, and Miguel all dropped to their knees and bowed their heads. For some reason, Torrence was tempted to keep them there, as it was boosting her ego, but she waved her hands.  
  
"No, you don't do that here!" Torrence said with a nervous laugh. They rose, and now she really wished she would've kept them there; they were all much taller than her. She looked up at them. "Here, we shake hands and hug."   
  
"I'm not hugging anyone," Dilandau said indignantly. Torrence rolled her eyes.   
  
"Fine." She looked at the others. "I'm Torrence," she added with a smile. She walked up to Gatti, shook his hand and hugged him. Gatti couldn't help but blush and hug back. She continued onto Chesta, Dalet, and Miguel, getting different hugs from each (she almost was strangled by Chesta).   
  
Torrence walked over to Dilandau. "You don't want a hug?" she asked. He shook his head. She grinned, taking advantage of her newfound authority. "Oh, I think you want a hug." Dilandau glared at her.  
  
"I do *not* want a hug," he muttered.   
  
"Yes you do." Torrence noticed the other boys were trying to wipe the smiles off of their faces. Then she put her arms around Dilandau's neck and hugged him quickly. The boy's face became even more pale than usual, and he squirmed a bit.  
  
Letting go, Torrence grabbed at the leather of his coat. "Ooo, shiny," she said. Dilandau stepped away.  
  
"Don't touch that." Torrence shrugged.   
  
"It'll be gone soon anyway."   
  
"What do you mean?!"  
  
"Well, if you want to stay here, you have to get some normal clothes." Dilandau growled and stalked out of the room.   
  
Looking at the other Slayers in the room, Torrence pointed at them. "Take the armor stuff off and leave it in here." Dalet had a look of apprehension on his face.  
  
"But what if we get ambushed?" he asked. Torrence rolled her eyes.  
  
"Oh my god, it's only the city! It won't happen! Now just trust me, and take it off. It must be annoying anyway." The four of them followed her orders and dropped their armor to the floor so they were left in their leather attire. Torrence studied them.  
  
"Okay, go and check out the house. Just don't break anything," she said. The group slowly filed out of the room, but before Gatti left, Torrence had grabbed his arm. He turned around and looked at her.   
  
"I'm sorry I tried to kill you a while back," she said. Gatti smiled.  
  
"I've had worse," he replied. Torrence stared at him.  
  
"Worse?"  
  
"Master Dilandau knows how to keep us in line. We get what's coming to us anyway." Torrence shook her head.  
  
"Well, I don't hit people... much... all the time... you get it." Gatti nodded.  
  
"We'll do whatever pleases you, m'lady."  
  
Torrence grinned. This was really nice so far. Screw not knowing them. They were all good looking, and were willing to serve her. 'That's all I need to know,' she thought as she walked to the living room. She froze and looked at the scene before her.   
  
Apparently, the boys had just discovered the television. They all looked at it in awe as people on the screen sang and millions cheered. Even Dilandau was paying attention to the magical screen. "Oh god," muttered Torrence. "Well, at least it'll keep them busy."  
  
~~~  
  
Woo, done with the second chapter! Yay! A bit longer than the first, thankfully. Anywho, hope you enjoyed. R&R, damn it! 


End file.
